The Normative Acts of the Ministry of Public Instruction in Portugal as a Source for the Historiography of Education

The normative acts of the Portuguese authoritarian regime designated as Estado Novo (1933– 1974), published in Diário do Governo, represent an important source for the history of education in Portugal. Following the ruptures with the republican paradigms present in the Education Reform of 1911, initiated still during the National Dictatorship (1926–1933), these acts regulated and guided the national educational policies according to the ideology of the New State.
This article aims to analyse the Normative Acts published by the regime and verify what
advances and setbacks were observed concerning the Education Reform of 1911. A document analysis was carried out of the Normative Acts published in the Diário do Governo by the Ministry of Public Instruction between 1933 and 1936 when the Ministry designation was changed to the Ministry of Educational Education.
The research revealed that in 1933, was published 244 Normative Acts were published. Among other types of acts, 121 Decrees and 65 Decree-Laws were published. Their contents focus predominantly on the organization of schools and teaching programmes. In addition, they also establish the guidelines for the training of teachers, their evaluations and professional
placement in schools. Reflecting the national socio-political context, the Normative Acts during the regime also regulated aspects related to the marriages of teachers, the individual political behaviour of teachers and students and the youth organization “Portuguese Mocity” activities in the educational activities. Amongst the measures regulated by the Normative Acts that distance themselves from the paradigms of the Reform of 1911, the alliance between the State and the Catholic Church stands out with the inclusion of religious education based on social Catholicism and a solid political, social and ideological matrix inserted in the school textbooks.
The regime uses the school as part of the strategy to instil in teachers and students the values and ideals of the Estado Novo, preparing them to be loyal citizens committed to the regime.
The Normative Acts reflect the national political and social contexts but also allow an
understanding of the tensions and transitions in national educational policies, contributing to the historiography of education in Portugal. The normative acts allow a unique and detailed view of the policies and guidelines of education during this period, allowing us to observe what remains and what is reformulated in the elements of the Reform of Education of 1911. On the other hand, in the sequence of events culminating with the end of the regime (1974), some elements of these regulations pave the way for the outlines of Veiga Simão’s Reform (1970).